


0 mile

by dohudohu



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff angst, Idk what this is but i tried, Implied Sexual Content, Smoking, is it counted as cheating if they're not together-together, jeongyeon appears too, mcdonalds crew dahyun, one of them is a sugar mommy kinda, there’s two women TWO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26967655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dohudohu/pseuds/dohudohu
Summary: Whatever strong bearings she has against the woman, it now receives its first blow, creating the first crack.Dahyun is just trying to get by. Life is okay, stable even, but there's just something not quite there. Things start to change when she meets a rude woman at the local McDonald's drive thru lane during her shift.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Kim Dahyun, Kim Dahyun/Myoui Mina
Comments: 50
Kudos: 125





	1. sensual politics

**Author's Note:**

> chapter titles from taylor swift's cardigan, of course.

French fry grease. Watered down iced coffee. A vanilla sundae. Burgers. The scent of baby powder.

Dahyun smells of all five combined by the time she’s fully immersed herself in the kitchen. And it’s only been less than an hour since her shift started. 

It’s a few minutes till seven, one of the busiest hours during nighttime. It’s a Monday; a lot of people are swinging by to grab a quick bite before going home to their single-room apartments. They sleep with the thought of work early the next day. Fuck capitalism. 

Dahyun has a love-hate relationship with the shift that she chose. There were more staff to help out during the day.

The latter hours of it are great though. 

Fuck capitalism indeed, but the best parts of her work happen at the stretch of midnight to 3 AM. 

The place isn’t in a secluded area of the city, but it still has a fair amount of distance from schools and offices. It’s the place where drunk college students occasionally come to munch and where nearby building residents go to for wee-hour cravings. 

For that reason, Dahyun finds these hours interesting. She gets to see people in some of their rawest moments. They're always unique, those who come in when it’s the time of day where the human body is programmed to be dormant. One should be unconscious, letting the brain perform its role of retaining memories, especially those that are to become long-term.

And yet.

“Shit!” Dahyun hisses. Damn stupid droplet of water exploding on top of the frying oil. She goes to the sink and washes the burnt area with running water. 

She doesn’t actually know if it helps as she’s always been a fast healer and has little to no scars, but it helps distract her from the burning sensation. As long as the water runs through. The affected area is kinda big too, so she figures this useless and turns off the faucet.

“Everything okay back there?” her manager asks, raised voice from the frontline.

“Yep! Just a little slip!” she yells back.

Dahyun dries it off with her kitchen towel. She’ll just have to get some petroleum jelly on it later. Both dine-in and drive-thru are busy at the moment. She wasn’t even in charge of the fryer. She was just passing through after getting a sundae and some fries for her crewmate’s customer to give out in the drive-thru window. 

Dahyun continues delivering food to her co-workers’ stations. And before she realizes it, the hours reach midnight. Her feet and back don’t hurt any less, but she can actually get a chance to sit down now. She settles on the chair with a soft groan. 

The night is somewhat slower than usual. It’s only the first weeknight, so the customers at this time are usually those who also work at night. Dahyun thinks she would be able to take a longer break. She does, but then the night calls for her again and she goes back with a sigh.

At this period of her shift, she takes charge of drive-thru. She thinks that a lot of the drive-thru customers are night-shifters or just travellers. Cars filled with drunk students sometimes come. She couldn’t care less about them though, she’s just here to observe. 

A car pulls up into the driveway. It’s a four wheeler that she’s sure has plenty of leg room. The driver’s window is just a bit higher than the establishment’s. 

Dahyun goes around the kitchen to gather all the items they ordered. It’s a simple one, just a burger meal with fries and drinks. No dessert. She hands them out a few seconds after the customer makes their stop at the claiming window. 

A short “thank you” is all they say upon receiving the food. 

Just then, another customer in a beat-up looking minivan drives in. This time it’s a wom—girl? Woman? The windows were already open. Whatever, she looks young. Like that’s-a-highschooler-don’t-flirt-her-because-that’s-creepy kind of face. But it’s like the kind you can’t really tell if they’re old enough or not because of how they carry themself.

The woman—she can now confirm—puts out a cigarette in what seems to be a cup in the car’s left cupholder. Dahyun can tell from the remnants of smoke coming out the car window. 

The woman orders a big bucket of fries and a sundae, so she gets to it. When Dahyun appears at the claiming window, she smells it before she sees it. The woman is rubbing her palms together with a citrusy kind of sanitizer. It reeks of orange....maybe lemon? She really shouldn’t be in food retail.

Anyway, the woman finishes cleaning her hands before reaching out to take her fries. _Probably to mask the smell,_ Dahyun thinks.

“Here you go. Enjoy your meal!” Dahyun puts on her best employee smile despite the fatigue that’s starting to kick in. 

“Your sundae, ma’am.” The bucket was too big for one hand. Can’t risk dropping all that delicious greasiness. 

“Are you new here?” 

“Pardon me?”

The woman looks behind the vehicle before asking again, “Are you new here?” The woman nods once in Dahyun’s direction when referring to her. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“Oh um,” Dahyun clears her throat. She also looks behind the minivan to check up on the driveway. The streets are relatively silent. She figures there won’t be another customer any sooner, so she answers, still maintaining a polite smile, “I’m not. I’ve been working here for a while. Why do you ask?”

The woman shrugs. “You look new.” She removes the makeshift ashtray cup and replaces it with the sundae. 

“Hey, would you mind throwing this in the bin for me? I don’t need it anymore. I’m travelling so I won’t be making another stop.” The woman slightly waves the cup near her own face with what can be assumed as a faint attempt at a smile. 

Her teeth are bared awkwardly, and it’s obvious she wants to stop smiling already. _Being polite can suck sometimes,_ Dahyun knows that very well.

Dahyun reaches out a hand towards her, and the woman breaks out in what Dahyun can tell is a genuine smile. Even with the _filthy_ habit, she seems to be quite clean herself. It’s another _filthy_ thought that Dahyun doesn’t voice out, among others. But not _that_ kind of filthy.

“Sure.” _Being polite is what I do_ is what her subconscious opts for.

The woman beams at her. “Thanks.”

The customer drives off, after which Dahyun leaves the station to throw it out in the back. The restaurant will smell as long as it’s inside. 

Dahyun wishes she could go on long night drives.

/

_“Are you sure?”_

“Yes, I’m sure.”

_“Great, thanks. I knew I could always count on you.”_

“Right. What are friends for?”

What _are_ friends for?

_“A special friend. You’re the best. I’ll see you soon.”_

Dahyun plops down on the couch after the call ends. She sighs, moves to lay her head on the armrest and places an arm over her eyes.

_When is soon?_

Another sigh. Almost two hours left till six. 

The restaurant is about a twenty to thirty minute walk. Too long to start showering yet too short to take a nap. She has to be there a few minutes before the actual clock-in time, so she ends up exercising.

The hot shower she takes afterwards soothes her muscles. Technically it’s useless, since she’ll be reeking of frying oil and reheated frozen burgers. She barely puts on any products on her skin for work. Just baby powder and some cologne. Makeup will melt and so she only does her eyebrows.

The walk to work is a peaceful one. It’s pretty too, since twilight has just begun. The route to the restaurant requires her to pass by dominantly residential streets. It’s quiet, the lanes just occasionally welcoming the presence of vehicles.

A car is coming from the opposite lane facing Dahyun. She continues to watch her steps, looking down at her feet. When she faces the road, the car is no longer there. 

It stops, instead, just where she is, resulting in her own steps coming to a slow stop. 

The windows, understandably old, are clear as ice, and the kind you roll up and down manually. The passenger window rolls down with a squeak, the glass hitting its casing within the door. 

“Hey!” the driver calls out from the inside. A deep voice.

Hands inside her pockets, Dahyun peers inside the car with curious eyes. “Yes?”

“You uhh...you’re that girl from the drive-thru right? Miss new-not-really-new face,” the driver says with a smirk.

Dahyun only looks on, not sure if she wants to respond. _Who is this?_

“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”

Now Dahyun knows not to take rides offered by strangers. The grating sounds produced by the car is already sketchy as it is. 

“I’ll have to decline, but thank you.”

She faces front again and carries on with her journey. A few feet past the car is how far she went before it starts moving slowly in reverse. Dahyun’s eyes meet the driver’s once again. 

“It’s me! Remember? I was at the drive-thru at midnight.”

Dahyun exhales, eyebrows meeting to form a frown. She decides to play along, just for the sake of not angering the driver if it turns out they’re a psycho.

“When did this happen, if I may ask?”

“Hmm...on the twelfth? Yeah, it was the twelfth. Do you remember now?” the driver asks, grinning at the girl. 

Dahyun straightens her back and rearranges the bag strap on her shoulder. “Ma’am, I don’t mean to be rude but—it’s the ninth today. I can’t possibly remember every single customer I face. Moreover it’s been a month. I’m not sure I would easily recall.”

The driver‘s face falls. “Why are you so defensive? I just wanted to give you a ride.”

“I’m not—”

“I guess you don’t want it then. Well it was nice seeing you—not that it matters to you—that, I know now.”

The woman drives away, the car screeching when she steps on the pedal to lunge the vehicle forward.

God, these entitled customers. 

/

_You love me, right?_

_Yes._

_Don’t ever leave me._

_Okay._

Fast food joints aren’t that bad. If anything, Dahyun even likes indulging in it. From time to time, she sets aside a few portions and takes home what she accumulated at the end of the day in her own container. 

This isn’t one of those days. She’s just so fucking hungry. _Screw it,_ she’s gonna get a whole-order amount right now—not compiled semi-scraps. It’s more than the bare minimum of what she gets paid for anyway.

She chomps on her fries hungrily, taking in multiple pieces at every bite. Being in the back calms her, a cool breeze hitting her face as she slurps on hot coffee. She enjoys her meal seated on a plastic chair. 

Despite eating heavy before her shift, the hunger is unavoidable. And it’s only 10 PM. She rarely eats during breaks too. God, she’s tired. The crowd in the restaurant has just thinned, so an impromptu break shouldn’t hurt. 

A call to her mobile comes in. Her eyes briefly shift towards the backdoor. She has seven minutes.

“Hello?”

_“Dahyun-ah.”_

The voice is airy. Dahyun exhales deeply, mouth avoiding the receiver. 

“Why did you call?”

_“I can’t call you when I miss you? Dahyun-ah, I’ve missed you.”_

“That’s it? I’m at work, in case you forgot.”

_“You are?”_ a chuckle, _“Right, it must’ve slipped me then.”_

“Is there anything else you wanted to say?”

_“Oh, yes. I’m picking you up for lunch.”_

She frowns at this. “I sleep through lunch.”

_“Please? I promise it’ll be nice. I’ll swing by around noon, okay?”_

An exhale. Five hours left in her shift and this phone call has already taken most of her energy. Nevertheless, she resigns to the offer.

“Okay.”

_“Amazing. I’ll see you then.”_

No appetite now, that’s for sure. But the excitement does hang over her, making her just a tad less cranky in the hours that followed. 

When she goes home, her first instinct will be to strip naked and get a change of only her underwear and knock herself out on the bed. She usually sleeps after dawn, but today she drifts off at around 4 with anticipation for lunch.

True to _her_ words, Dahyun does see _her_ at noon. The face greets Dahyun in a soft, whole-hearted smile and a loose hug. She gives Dahyun a kiss on the cheek too. 

No one will think badly of any of the stuff she does. It’s the face of an angel. The thought consciously looms over her. 

_Dahyun._

“What?”

“You’ve been spacing out. What are you thinking of?”

Dahyun picks up her fork. “Oh, nothing. Just a bit sleepy, that’s all.”

Although she went to sleep pretty fast, she woke up shortly after too. A three hour-long state of unconsciousness is what she’d call it, since the lethargy she feels tells her it’s _not_ a nap. Anyway, it just wasn’t a nice sleep.

“You sure? I think you’ve been aloof lately.”

_She_ is _one to talk, especially with_ her _absence._

“Did you not like lunch? I can take you somewhere else. Or we could just walk.”

“No, it’s—actually,” Dahyun exhales, setting down the fork, “that would be nice, yes. I want to go on a walk.”

She nods. “I’ll call for the bill.”

The two of them hold hands as they stroll on the sidewalk. Dahyun lets herself be led to the destination, not knowing exactly where.

“Did you miss me?”

A pause. 

“Y-yeah. Yes, I did.” 

“Hmm. That’s good to hear.”

Dahyun asks, “How have you been?“

They arrive at a park that’s near a high-rise condominium. Dahyun follows _her_ to a bench, her hand being tugged at. 

“Enough about me. Is work treating you okay? You look sick, Dahyun-ah.” She places the back of her hand against Dahyun’s cheek, and then to Dahyun’s forehead. The hand goes back down to the cheek, the palm now cupping her face. 

“Hmm?”

“Work is....okay.”

“Really?” A soft stroke of the thumb. “You weren’t too tired to come today?”

Shaking her head, Dahyun takes the hand and places it with hers on her lap. Dahyun looks down at their intertwined hands. 

“It’s fine. I wanted to see you.”

She hums, “Yeah, me too.” A smile. Dahyun returns it almost effortlessly. 

“Why are you here? Are you on break?” Dahyun asks. 

“Yeah. Well no, kinda. I mean, it wasn’t planned. I just wanted to get a day off. And to see you.” She brings up Dahyun’s hand to kiss the back of it. 

“I’m glad you can rest for a bit. Especially since I’m not there to take care of you.”

“Yeah?”

It’s the face of an angel— 

“Would you take care of me, Dahyun-ah? Do you want to be by my side?” 

—looking upon her as if she’s ready to grant everything Dahyun wants and needs. As if she’s willing. If only Dahyun would ask. 

And then she breathes out, “You know I can’t, Dahyun.” 

She looks glum about it, at least.

Dahyun swallows. “I know.”

“We can just stay like this, can’t we? It’s not like it isn’t beneficial to either of us. You love me and I love being with you. You know that, right?”

But she’s not willing. So Dahyun never asks. 

“Of course. It’s better this way,” is what she says instead. 

“Do you wanna go back? I can stay with you before work.”

“That sounds nice. Would it be okay?”

She chuckles. “Of course it’s okay, Dahyun-ah. I have time. Let’s go?”

She stands up with Dahyun’s left hand in hers. Dahyun needs only to be pulled for her to follow. 

They leave the parking lot for Dahyun’s apartment. She can’t help but nap during the short ride, and is awakened by a pat on the cheek and a light shake to the shoulder. 

“We’re here.”

Still woozy from sleep, she takes a while to proceed with the task of unbuckling her seatbelt. The buckle is released for her instead, seconds before she can process it. 

She gives Dahyun a warm smile. “Let’s go, you need to rest.”

She and Dahyun settle in the apartment after carefully placing their shoes by the door. 

“Should I heat up some milk for you? Would that soothe you?” 

_She’s sweet._

“Yes, thank you.” 

Dahyun drags herself to the bedroom, her coat left to rest on the couch’s backrest. 

It takes only a few minutes for her milk to be ready. It’s frothed, even. 

The percentage of foam is just the way Dahyun likes it. 

She remembers the most arbitrary Dahyun things.

“Thank you.”

She sits on the bed just beside Dahyun and starts stroking the girl’s hair, tucking some in behind Dahyun’s ear. She brings the hand to Dahyun’s nape and gently fondles at it. 

Dahyun closes her eyes and hums, both at the touch and at the taste of milk.

Then, she shifts to situate herself behind Dahyun who’s taking casual sips. Her legs stretch out to accommodate the girl in front. Hands sweep Dahyun’s hair to one side and she feels fingertips dance around her neck before they settle at the area above her clavicle. 

It’s the perfect combination of assuagers; the earlier tension in her body is gradually dissipating. 

“I like it when you do that,” Dahyun breaks the silence. A small sip, glass half-empty.

“It calms you down, doesn’t it?” She begins massaging the area. 

“Yes, it’s very relaxing.” _I like it when you touch me._

“And you love it,” she whispers in her ear.

Dahyun leans her head back, eyes still shut.

“I do.” _I love you._

She takes the glass and sets it aside on the bedside table. Continuing her ministrations, she also moves her fingers up to delicately tug at Dahyun’s ears. 

Dahyun lets out a deep breath and plants her hands behind her. They meet the other girl’s thighs, which are more than welcoming to the touch. 

“Shall I continue?”

_She’s blistering._

Dahyun huffs out, “Yes, Mina.”

Mina folds her legs and gets into a half-kneeling position, enveloping Dahyun’s back in an embrace with her arms circling over the latter’s shoulders. 

She places two kisses on Dahyun: one on top of her head and another just below Dahyun’s right ear. “Lie down.”

Mina entangles herself from the girl to let her lay on the bed. Dahyun faces the left side of the room and takes a small pillow to hug. Mina follows suit, and then adjusts herself to the curve of Dahyun’s back.

“Rest up, Dahyun-ah. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You will?” Her voice is filled with exhaustion. She clutches Mina’s hand that was on her abdomen to hug the girl’s arm along with the pillow.

“Of course.”

/

Once she gets out of here, she’s never going back. 

That’s what Dahyun keeps telling herself when shit gets too much. 

When the stupid rain would get her work shoes muddy, and that she can’t bring her nice (and comfier) ones to work because the rainwater will ruin it and she needs clean shoes to look at least decent when going out.

When she gets late for work because it’s always before her shift that her toilet decides to clog up.

Or when her _real_ manager is on duty and would continuously give her shit throughout the entire night, because the only one who ever asks about the employees’ well-being is, actually, just the temp.

That’s when it’s shit. That’s when it gets too much.

She refuses to accept Mina’s help. Despite her constant need for coddling, this is probably the last thing she would put down her pride for. Still, Mina does her best to ensure Dahyun is provided with all her basic needs. In turn, Dahyun has, over time, learned to accept the small amounts of help from the older girl. 

Just not with this one. She wants to accomplish at least _something_ on her own. 

_Just take it, okay? I’m doing this out of my own will. You don’t even have to say ‘thank you.’_

_I...thank you._

_Now what did I just say?_ The tone was playful.

_You said I don’t have to, but I want to._

_Hmm, you’re so smart._ A pause; then a kiss. _Do whatever you want. You can do anything, Dahyun-ah._

So she gets up every 4 PM to eat and get ready for work. Every day without fail. Except Sunday. 

Dahyun is saving up for college. Her parents decided they didn’t want her and put her up for adoption when she was little. The people from the foster home say that they weren’t even a couple of scared teenagers with an unplanned baby. Just two dumbfucks who didn’t care enough to put on a condom. 

When Dahyun was 19 she decided to leave the shelter to start a life of her own. It wasn’t as tough now as it was at first, since she came and went as she pleased at the shelter. After graduating high school, she became too ashamed of ‘leeching’ off the caretakers. She needed to be wholly independent. 

Now here she is, clocking in for the last shift of the week. It’s a Saturday, so she expects less customers. People are usually out in parks and dining in fancier restaurants. 

Saturdays are her favorite since it’s the slowest day and also the day before her day-off. Saturday patrons should thank her, honestly. They get the best service out of her moderately cheerful mood. Also this job ain’t shit, so she unconsciously gives extra effort and zest when she’s nearing Sunday. The later the better.

Tonight’s drive thru shift is way too quiet.

A lot of small delivery trucks hit the road before dawn, particularly on Sundays. Dahyun is half-relieved and half-bored at the scarcity of customers in the window. She doesn’t show it, but the weird people coming to the joint to grab takeout are fun to watch. She finds it amusing when they talk to her, knowing that they probably can’t figure her out (and especially when they think they can). _Like that woman._

There are only two people in the world who truly know her, and that includes herself. The other one is Mina.

So she doesn’t get how people—strangers—see someone for the first time and think they can just brashly assume anything about the person.

Defensive? As if. 

(She doesn’t realize how she’s way too offended. It took one look and she already knew the woman was going to get on her nerves.)

Unless the woman wasn’t a serial killer of sorts, Dahyun wasn’t going to take any chances. She was right to be on guard. Plus, she’s weird. Asking a random girl (who may or may not look like one flick would send her to the wind) to get in your car in the middle of a quiet neighborhood street? That’s creep behavior. 

The driveway lights up yellow from the headlights of an approaching vehicle, signalling the presence of a new customer. Its rays creep into the last window somehow. Time to work.

“Good evening! Welcome to McDonald’s. What can I get you?” Dahyun greets.

There’s only the CCTV camera at the first stop that would allow Dahyun to see the customer. She doesn’t look at the monitor though, and just takes the order through the bulky headset that was provided to them. For employee-use only.

She punches it in and informs them of the amount tendered. Then, she tells them to proceed to the last window as she hurriedly collects the food. 

Usually there were two people in charge of the drive thru: one cashier who takes the order through the headset, and another one who packs the food. Dahyun handles both since the hours don’t require the extra hand. Moreover, the day-customers are impatient _and_ short-tempered. (She hates them.) Starting midnight to five, customers pay at the last window instead.

Dahyun braces herself to face the customer with a smile, paper bag and takeout cup in hand. She places them on the counter first to accept payment. The customer pays the exact amount. 

“Here you go! Large bucket of fries, your drink, and your sundae. Enjoy your meal!”

She hands them over with care, not forgetting to flash the signature employee smile. She looks up at the customer in the driver seat and waves. Her hand ceases movement at the sight of the driver. 

In the driver seat is the same woman who had _asked_ to _give her a ride_ to work just two weeks ago. She couldn’t remember their first meeting but she certainly would not have forgotten the second.

It’s her, again. And she’s already looking at Dahyun.

“Now where’d all that gut go? Surely you can’t talk to me like that now, since I’m a paying customer.”

_Paid, you mean._

Dahyun doesn’t bat an eyelash. “We’re happy that we can be of service to you. We hope to see you again another time!”

“That’s it?” The woman takes a look behind her car. No waiting customers.

“Yes. We hope to serve you here at McDonald’s for a third time!” The smile is still there, getting faker as she utters more words. “If you would just kindly drive out so as to not hold the line, it would be greatly appreciated. Come see us again!” Dahyun gestures to the lane.

“There’s no one here?” says the woman, raising a skeptic eyebrow.

Dahyun drops the act. “What do you want?”

The woman grins. “Ah, there it is.”

“What?”

“I was wondering when I’d see you again. Then I remembered, ‘didn’t I stop because I saw her at McDonald’s?’ and it just made sense to come here. I was really hungry, thank god.”

“With all due respect, _ma’am_ , you need not be here after your order has been completed. This is the drive thru lane.” Dahyun tries her best to mask the growing annoyance in her tone. 

“Did you just ‘ma’am this is a McDonald’s’ me? Why are you so keen on making me leave? Look, I’m sorry about last time but I really just wanted to do you a favor. No funny business.”

Dahyun crosses her arms. “That’s not how you apologize.”

The woman faces front and sighs in exasperation. Then, she turns back to Dahyun and looks the girl straight in the eye. 

“I’m sorry—for being an ass.” She looks back again for a second to check on the driveway. There’s still no one there, so she continues, “I figured you were going to work and I knew it was far so I wanted to give you a ride. I was being a prick, and I shouldn’t have called you defensive.”

A single hum leaves Dahyun’s throat, signalling for the driver to continue. 

“I’m sorry again—uh, I’ll leave.” The woman gives her a tight-lipped smile, one that does not reach her eyes. She slowly drives away from the restaurant’s lot, turning right at the exit. 

Dahyun relaxes her arms and drops them to her sides. She stares at the empty driveway for a moment before closing the window and returning to her seat near the register. Maybe she’ll have another ‘free’ burger.

It’s almost three in the morning.

“You’re here again?”

Dahyun’s voice bursts through the drive thru speakers. She just happened to be looking at the monitor at the exact moment that the distinct minivan came in.

“Whoa there, easy. Wait, can you see me?” She finds the surveillance camera perched on top of the speaker. She waves at it in slow movements. “I just came here to get some ice cream.”

Dahyun goes impassive at the statement. “There’s a seven eleven across the street.”

“Yeah, well. I kind of forgot to eat it? The sundae, I mean.” The woman shrugs. “And now it’s all melted. So, one chocolate sundae please! I’ll see you at the window, yeah?” She winks at the camera and proceeds to payment.

“Hey there.” She grins.

Dahyun avoids eye contact and merely hands over the sundae. The woman, again, gives her the exact amount. That’s great, the less contact the better.

“Cute,” the driver speaks aloud, but it’s more to herself. “What time do you get off?” she asks. 

Dahyun scoffs, “Excuse me?”

She leans out the car window with an arm resting on the door, elbow popping out. Looking around the driveway, she says, “It’s late. I’ll take you home. You must live nearby, since you walk and all.”

“ _Excuse me?"_

“Shit, I’m doing it again,” the woman quietly hisses, briefly dropping her head. “Uh, I apologize. I didn’t mean to do that _again_ ,” —she sounds so small mentioning the last word but she’s quick to regain her confidence— “But um, I mean it. I’m just concerned. It’s not safe to go home at this time.” 

It’s a decent apology, Dahyun will give her that. 

The woman begins her next sentence with a smirk, “And I really wanna flirt with you on the way home too, so please, if you would just let me drive you, that would be amazing.” 

Dahyun deadpans, “Your car stinks.”

“Wha—you—you don’t know that.” She creases her eyebrows. “Oh. The cigarettes.” She shoots Dahyun a smile. “Don’t worry, I didn’t smoke today.” 

The grin reaches her eyes this time, making her look less unpleasant in Dahyun’s eyes. It’s warm, Dahyun can tell.

Whatever strong bearings she has against the woman, it now receives its first blow, creating the first crack.

Dahyun stands in the window with a wooden expression.

“Three.”

She slides the windows and turns around, heading to the kitchen and out of the woman’s sight.

“Three? What does that— _oh_ ,” she puts two and two together and chuckles.

“Well then.” She checks her phone for the time. There’s twenty minutes till three. “Park I must.”

Dahyun finds her in the restaurant’s parking lot a few minutes past 3 AM. She weaves a hand through her hair, a way to soothe her scalp after being tied up for hours. The car is parked facing the road.

Dahyun walks up to the van and knocks on the passenger window. 

A phone screen illuminates the woman’s face and Dahyun sees her smile at the sound of knocking. The woman leans over to pull the handle and unlocks the door. Clutching the handle by the windshield, Dahyun hoists herself up onto the seat. She then makes herself comfortable and places her bag on her lap. The woman shuts off her phone and places it in the compartment that’s situated underneath the handbrake. 

She lays her left hand on the steering wheel and turns to Dahyun. “Well, this is unexpected,” she says, casual and all as she pokes a tongue to her cheek.

Dahyun turns to her as well, responding, “I’m already starting to change my mind.”

“Oh come on. You changed your mind real quick when I said—“

“I’m getting out.” Dahyun raises an eyebrow, making a move to open the door. 

“Wait no I was just kidding!” 

The woman chuckles nervously. “Don’t get off, please. Just let me take you home, alright? I’ll stop—I mean, I’ll try not to be annoying, heh.”

Dahyun retracts her hand from the handle. “Fine.”

“So, where to?”

“You don’t have a GPS? Not even in your phone?”

“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame the system.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know! BUT, you _can_ give me the directions as we go. It’s not that hard.”

Dahyun rolls her eyes at that. The woman did have a point. It wasn’t even in the slightest bit difficult, but she’s tired, and since she’s not supposed to sleep in a complete stranger’s car, she wants to opt for muting herself for the duration of the ride. 

“There’s a lot of turns. I don’t want to talk much.”

“To me or at me? You know you don’t have much of a choice, right?” Her eyebrow is raised, smugness oozing all over the car. “Hmm?”

Dahyun sighs. “Turn left at the exit.”

“Ooh, there we go,” says the woman. Dahyun merely rolls her eyes again, which draws out a small laugh from the driver. She glances at Dahyun. “I can’t believe I’m driving such a pretty girl to her home. Maybe my luck isn’t so bad.” 

If Dahyun could roll her eyes a third time then she would, but her body has started giving up on her that she’s become too exhausted to even breathe. Feeling stuffy, she opens the window to let the air hit her face.

True to her statement, getting to Dahyun’s home did take a lot of turns. It might be annoying for some drivers to make so many turns; but as a walker, Dahyun actually enjoyed taking the route. Soon enough, they arrive at her house.

Dahyun mutters a small, “Thank you,” and proceeds to get out. She looks at the woman still in the driver’s seat for about two seconds before turning around to walk towards the gate.

The house was left to her by her parents, apparently as a way to make up for the absence. Dahyun remained stoic throughout the whole turnover process, choosing to just accept the property as she had no way of finding a decent place at 19. She was no beggar, plus it was her own land too; it would be impractical on her part to not take it. She still finds the situation to be somewhat pathetic though.

The woman in the vehicle unbuckles her seatbelt and opens the left window to sit on the door. “By the way, my name’s Nayeon!” she yells from the car roof, attempting to chase Dahyun with her voice—Dahyun who is busy fiddling with the padlock. She opens the gate just a little and slips herself inside the residence. She then faces the woman—Nayeon—with a half-scowl.

Nayeon asks, tilting her head, “What?”

Dahyun merely acknowledges her with a tired bow. “Good night, miss Nayeon.” She then turns around so she could finally get inside. 

“You can call me Nayeon!” Nayeon replies. “What should I call you?” 

Back still facing the woman, Dahyun only waves a hand in the air and disappears into the front door. Nayeon sees one of the windows light up and lowers herself back into the seat. Sporting a wide smile, she starts the engine and drives off.

* * *


	2. your favorite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mina spends more time off work. Dahyun starts warming up to Nayeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> banchan - korean side dish/es
> 
> also this is quite long, pls don't be shy to tell me if there are typos (spelling, extra spaces, etc.)

French fry grease. Watered down iced coffee. A vanilla sundae. Burgers. Baby powder.

Dahyun hates that she smells of all five combined when the kitchen air wraps itself around her, with microdroplets of oil sticking onto her hair and clothes. It’s Friday today and Saturday tomorrow (or rather, later), which means that Sunday is also fast approaching. She can’t wait to enjoy her day-off. It might consist of some illegal streaming to catch up with her new favorite drama. Maybe she’ll even pop open a bottle of wine, the one that Mina gave her. 

It would be nice too if she could share it with the older girl, but we can’t always have nice things. Dahyun doesn’t want to bother her. She’s _fine_ with what the older girl can give. After all, she’s only ever given Dahyun the best. 

_Has she, though?_

The thought almost always never lingers. 

She pumps vanilla into three cups of iced coffee, sealing them with lids afterwards. She grabs three straws and a cup carrier under the counter and places them at one of the registers. Her co-worker nods to her before arranging the drinks and she goes back to the kitchen to start on another batch of fries. 

The night goes fairly well. Dahyun doesn’t spill anything. No slips, no burns. She buys gimbap from a street vendor during her break. There’s a few more pompous customers than usual and although she’s not too tired to be much irritated about it, it’s shit nonetheless. It’s one of those nights where it’s neither fun nor very crappy. 

Most times she would find herself seeking comfort after hours in the form of a mug of steamed milk at home. That would be the routine.

But tonight there’s a face that greets her when she exits the fast food joint, one that Dahyun never quite knows when to expect seeing and yet, is the most pleasant of all surprises. It’s the one with a look that shines just enough for only Dahyun to notice. Quite a site to see in the flesh without prior notice, for sure. 

From afar, she waves at Dahyun as the younger girl traverses the parking lot. 

“Dahyun-ah,” Mina greets with a smile when the girl is close enough. “Did you finish work already?” She pushes herself off from the black Audi.

“Mina?” Dahyun stops in her tracks, hand in the middle of weaving through her hair. 

(She’s forgotten to bring her glasses today. Much to her relief, one eye was working better than the other.)

A playful smile forms in on Mina’s expression. “Why? Were you expecting someone else?” She extends a hand towards the younger girl and motions for her to come closer. Dahyun complies, meeting Mina’s hand with hers. 

“Why are you here this late? Don’t you have to be at work in a few hours?” 

Mina pinches Dahyun’s cheek with her free hand. “Mm-mm. But I couldn’t sleep after my nap. I tried to, but I ended up turning in bed for god knows how long. So I thought maybe I could come see you instead.”

_She’s sweet_. 

“You _napped?_ Until evening?” Dahyun chuckles and lets go of Mina’s hand in favor of circling her arm around the older girl’s neck, bringing them closer together. She comments, “You’ve been having frequent breaks lately. Are they finally cutting you some slack?” Mina smiles at the question.

“Yeah, I guess. But it’s probably just temporary.” She pecks Dahyun on the lips. “Anyway, your place? I’ll whip up something for you.”

“What about you? I don’t think I have enough...” Dahyun trails off, looking to the side.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m not hungry. Let’s worry about you,” Mina responds with a grin, turning the younger girl by the shoulders to get her in the passenger seat.

Mina drives them to Dahyun’s house. Once home, she tells Dahyun to wait for her in the living room and makes do in the kitchen with some eggs and vegetables to make fried rice. There’s some leftover meat, so she adds that too. 

The two of them watch a movie that ends at around seven. They kiss a little after that; Mina tells her that she needs to be at the office before nine, and then she leaves, giving Dahyun a hug and assures her that they’ll meet again soon. Dahyun didn’t see her out the gate anymore as Mina forced her to stay in bed. 

“You’ll lose momentum. Rest well, alright? I’ll see you another time.”

“See you, then. I’ll miss you.”

Mina ghosts her lips against Dahyun’s forehead. “Me too.”

/

Nayeon giggles animatedly at the speaker-mic of the McDonald’s drive-thru. Not only that, she’s also making kissy faces at the camera above it, complete with finger hearts and peace signs.

“Hey um, you! I know you can see me! Stop ignoring me, I’m your customer!” Her voice is loud, and she laughs when she hears the small static sound emitted by the speaker.

“Welcome to McDonald’s. What can I get you?”

Nayeon bluntly replies, “You.”

The answer is met with silence.

“I’m joking, of course. Are you serving pancakes?”

“It’s 2 AM. No, we are not serving pancakes.”

“Aw, why can’t you? I’m starving,” Nayeon whines, pouting at the camera. She hears shuffling in the background before Dahyun answers, “They’ll start preparing the batter after three. You can come back by then.” 

Nayeon leans out the window more. “Ooh! Don’t you end at three? Let’s get pancakes after your shift. I’ll take you home too as a sign of my gratitude.” She winks at the camera and hears Dahyun let out a sigh from the other end.

“Who even flirts at a drive-thru speaker? A McDonald’s one at that, too.”

“Me. I do.” Nayeon meticulously cuts through her pancake and stuffs it in her mouth. “Aren’t you gonna eat?”

“No. I have food at home.”

Nayeon counters, “You should eat now. I’m sure you had a long night.” 

“Well, I would be eating right now if you weren’t so damn adamant about the pancakes.” Dahyun sips from a cup of service water.

“I didn’t force you to.” Filling her mouth, she continues, “Besides, the free ride didn’t sound so bad, huh? Now you’re _actually_ sitting with me, waiting.” Nayeon moves her eyebrows up and down, laughing at the cold look on Dahyun’s face. “Alright alright. I’m almost done. Lemme just get this piece…” 

Nayeon smears some butter and syrup on the last piece. She picks it up with her fork, secures it and then brings it to Dahyun’s mouth. 

“Here. Ahhh,” she says. 

Dahyun glares at her. 

“No?” At that, Nayeon slowly retracts her hand and silently tucks the last piece into her mouth. She tries to laugh it off while chewing, looking away as she drank from her own cup of water. After swallowing it all, she returns her gaze to the other girl. “Let’s go.”

Dahyun merely grabs her bag from the table and stands up to exit the establishment. She didn’t need to be asked twice; she could really use the ride home. It’s like an online shop voucher. Nayeon quickly follows of course, jogging right behind her. When they reach the parked minivan, Nayeon unlocks the passenger door first with the key and opens it for Dahyun. The girl gets in without a word. 

They settle into the vehicle. After checking the mirrors and locks, Nayeon drives them out of the lot. Then, she gives an attempt at small talk.

“So...how long have you been working in that place?”

“Who’s asking?” Dahyun’s tone sounds hostile, although she doesn’t really mean to be. Other than the fact that she’s still guarded around the woman, it’s also kind of amusing to watch Nayeon look so timid whenever Dahyun gives a snarky reply. Part of the fun in being a pretty girl are the people scrambling to their feet trying their best to be nice to you.

(Mina isn’t like that _—_ not like anyone else at all _—_ which made things much more complicated.)

Nayeon’s voice doesn’t go quieter, although it seems like it does. “I mean, I’m just curious…”

A little conversation wouldn’t hurt. The woman is already giving her a second free ride home, and it's not like it's a sane option to jump out of a moving vehicle just to avoid it.

“I started around...two years ago?” Dahyun says, nods, and then adds, “Yeah, going two years and a half now.”

Nayeon gives her a quick look. She makes a turn even without Dahyun telling her. Answering the silent question forming in the middle of the girl’s eyebrows, she quickly explains, “I have an almost perfect memory. Don’t worry, I didn’t follow you or anything after last time. So, two years huh? That can be pretty quick. What did you do before this?”

“Um…I was in college.”

There’s quite a long pause after the statement. Nayeon waits for her to continue.

“I had to stop. Financial problems. This was the only thing I could think of that was ‘okay,’ and the job was easy enough to learn right away, so I took it.”

“It’s great, being independent and all,“ Nayeon starts, “until you realize you actually have to give back your hard-earned money to the same corporations who make everyone’s lives a living hell.”

The younger girl nods with a jeer, “Yeah, tell me about it.”

Another turn. “What was your major?” 

Dahyun laughs, really _laughs_ at the question.

“Business management.”

Nayeon lets out a chuckle at the revelation. “Huh. The irony.”

“I know. As if working at a fast food restaurant will get me anywhere in the business world.”

“Hey, don’t belittle your job. A lot of big business people started out small. Being in the lowest position probably gave them a perspective on proper management, don’t you think? A good leader must be a good follower.”

Only a few turns left till home.

Dahyun huffs, “Are you possessed or something? And what’s with the weird speech? Please don’t go all business guru on me.”

“Shoot.” Nayeon clicks her tongue. “Is that a turn off for you?” She sports a look of feigned disappointment. 

“What turn off…”

Nayeon simply laughs. Dahyun almost seemed flustered.

Three, two turns. They’re almost there.

“We’re here,” Nayeon announces after a few minutes. 

Dahyun turns to her. “Thank you for driving me again. Your next order is on me.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No, it’s my way of paying you back. Let me.”

“You can pay me back with your name.”

Dahyun stills. “My name?”

“Yeah. I gave you mine last time. What’s yours?”

Dahyun’s mind gears in contemplation. It really wouldn’t hurt.

“Dahyun. My name is Dahyun.”

“Dahyun.” Nayeon’s lips quirk up into a smile. “No last name?”

“I think that’s enough for now.” Dahyun unbuckles her seatbelt. Bowing her head, she says, “Good night, Nayeon.”

Unlike last time, Dahyun walks into the house with less languor.

“Good night, Dahyun.”

/

Them. It’s offbeat.

Unfamiliar? Never.

Acquainted, yes, but also not quite. It’s friendship and more. 

Mina and Dahyun are like a spinning top. At times there’s speed, but eventually the spinning ends and it falls over. You could get it going again, or just leave it alone and go about your day. Either one of them always, always initiates the first option. It's almost non-negotiable at this point.

Sometimes Dahyun teetered around Mina, and although the older girl made no action to stop anything that had to do with what they were, or did _something_ about what they weren’t, Dahyun tries. She really does. 

Still, Mina lingers with the uncertainty of tomorrow. Dahyun will probably always be there, patience unwavering for Mina, Mina who might, eventually— _finally,_ be in one place. Mina who would firmly decide that she wants to be with Dahyun. To stay not for an indefinite period. 

Mina wanted to help. Dahyun asked her not to. 

They first met when Dahyun had just been cut off from her scholarship. She was just outside the admissions office, face buried in her hands as she tried best to control her breathing at such a public place. Her chest heaved with exhaustion and anxiety, wanting to shut out the noise from her surroundings. The uneasiness pooled in her stomach that she wanted to vomit from the sheer amount of stress. What was she going to do now? Ever since she stopped going to the shelter, she couldn’t save up on food like she used to, as the caretakers always gave her several tupperwares of _banchan_ whenever she visited. For a while, no free _banchan_ was fine; she had an allowance from the scholarship anyway. 

The college offered free lodging to the recipients of scholarship programs. Although it sounds nice, the price, or lack thereof, reflected well on the living conditions that she must put herself in. Naturally, she chose the house that was given by her biological parents. 

Dahyun reasoned out that someone like Mina shouldn’t be going around financially helping strangers who wouldn’t be able to pay back the amount even if they slaved for a decade or two. Mina had—in all her impressive ability to come up with a proper debate stance that had absolutely no loopholes—successfully refuted the argument.

And so Mina took care of everything. Then she took care of Dahyun. The younger girl eventually let her in. 

_Look, you can still back out, I feel really bad about thi—_

_Hush, we’re doing this._

_I promise to pay you back once I get back on my feet._

_It’s fine. Let me take care of this for now. You can worry about it later._

_I just have to meet you once every week, right? I feel like a college kid who’s away from home asking her parents for a weekly allowance. But like, at a school that’s both near and not near. Also you’re not my mom._

The older girl had chuckled.

_You’re cute. Yes, Dahyun-ssi, once every week. Or is this set-up not too comfortable for you? I can adjust._

_N-no, it’s fine. I think…I’m just glad you hadn’t been some weirdo. Someone who would probably loiter around places where young girls find out they’re broke or going bankrupt so they can offer a deal that sounds really good but is somewhat a scam._

Dahyun paused. 

_Huh, that was highly specific. But anyway, I’m really grateful for the help. Thank you so much, Mina-ssi. I don’t know what I would’ve done to save myself from this situation._

_Hm. How do you know I’m not a weirdo?_

_Uh...you’re not, right?_

_You’re curious, aren’t you? I’d say interested, even._

_H-huh?_

_I’m kidding. Here, give me your number so I can call you._

Dahyun was flustered.

_Oh, and call me Mina._

Dahyun let Mina help. Just for a while, at least until she wasn’t struggling as much. From acquaintances to friends and then more, more but not quite most, Mina had entered Dahyun’s world, the younger girl embracing her as she went and scattered herself all over the bits that make up the whole of Dahyun’s existence. Mina always leaves a trail for Dahyun to keep. For certain. That’s what she tells herself.

She’s just a follower is what it is.

_“Dahyun-ah.”_

“Hello, Mina. What’s up?”

_“Shall we get breakfast later? My friend invited me to the soft-opening of her restaurant. She wants me to bring a date.”_

“A date?”

_“Yes. We haven’t gone out in a while.”_

“You’re right. Yeah, sure. Is it far?”

_“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pick you up at three.”_

“Mina, that’s too early.”

A slightly embarrassed chuckle resonates from the other line. She must've been really tired from work. _“Oh, right. See you at seven then?”_

“Seven sounds good.”

_“Alright.”_

Mina arrives at Dahyun’s house an hour earlier than expected.

“Mina? It’s still 6 AM.”

The older stands upright, one hand holding a hanger that had a white cover and a paper bag hanging from the other.

“I brought you something. Can I come in?”

Mina enters the home and heads straight to Dahyun’s bedroom.

“What…” Dahyun mutters, following Mina into the room. Inside, the older girl has unzipped the cover to reveal a light blue dress and lays it out on the bed. “What’s this?”

Mina looks up to face her and smiles. “For you. I know you hate the one and only dress that’s in your closet because of the color. I saw this and thought it would suit you. Blue goes really well with your skin.”

“That’s…” Dahyun walks to the bed and admires the dress. 

Mina takes the dress by the hanger to hold it up. She then asks, “What do you think?”

Dahyun feels her chest go light despite her gradually increasing heartbeat. Her body does this thing where she can’t sense anything _but_ Mina. 

“It’s beautiful, eonni. I love it.”

The older girl grins from ear to ear, happy with the younger’s reaction. “It is, isn’t it? I knew you’d like it.” She carefully removes the dress from the hanger and covers Dahyun’s front with it. “It already looks good on you. You’ve showered already, right? Try it on.” 

Mina leaves the piece of clothing in her hands. Before exiting the room, she rubs Dahyun’s arm and says, “I’ll be in the living room. Oh, and I’ve also brought shoes for you. They’re in the bag.”

Dahyun tries her best to walk in a less awkward fashion as she steps into the living room. 

Mina watches on with a fond expression. She eyes the girl’s feet. “I wanted to bring heels, but I think it would be better if I can see your face without looking up.”

Dahyun picks at the hem of her dress. 

“That’s okay. I don’t like wearing heels.”

“You look so pretty in that dress.” Mina rises from her seat and approaches the younger girl. She traces a finger over one side of Dahyun’s jaw, ending at the chin where she gently uses her index finger to tilt Dahyun’s head up. “You ready?”

“Y-yeah,” Dahyun replies, “Um, I just need to put on some powder.”

“Of course. That’s it?”

“Yes. I’ll be back.” 

They leave just before seven. Mina drives them to the place, arriving after thirty-five minutes. Not so bad for the morning rush. 

“This looks cozy,” Mina comments.

Dahyun nods in agreement. “Your friend has good taste.”

They go inside where they are led to a table that’s already been reserved for them. It had a great view of the cityscape. 

Dahyun needs to be in bed after their date, so she lets Mina order something light for her. 

"This is um," she starts, "pretty early for a gourmet restaurant."

"Oh, I haven't told you. My friend said it's mostly a breakfast place, so we're just right on time."

"Ah. That makes sense, then."

The older girl sips from her coffee. “How have you been?” Her voice is light; it’s warm and curious, like she’s talking to an old friend that she hasn’t met in years. 

The younger one replies, “Not much. You know me, I don’t really have anything going on.”

“You need a break. Maybe I should take you out on vacation.”

“That sounds nice. But I’m pretty sure my boss won’t allow it.” Dahyun ends the sentence with a derisive chuckle. 

“I’ll talk to him.” 

“You don’t have to.”

Mina smiles briefly. “Okay.”

Their food arrives. The two of them have a good meal while catching up on each other about the days that they missed. 

“So, do you plan on going back to school soon?”

Dahyun swallows down a bite. “I’m thinking of going back next year.”

“That’s good. Do you need any help? I could pull some strings to make your return easier.” Mina puts out an open palm on the side of the tabletop. Dahyun moves to rest hers on top of it. A thumb affectionately rubs against the milky white skin.

“There’s no need. I can handle that much,” she assures. 

“How about now? Are you managing?” 

“Yeah, I guess. Nothing that would make me break the bank. Not right now, at least.”

Mina squeezes her hand. “Just tell me when it gets too hard, okay? I’m here to help.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate you saying that.” Dahyun squeezes back in response. 

They fall into a comfortable silence as they finish up their food. When she’s done arranging her utensils on the plate, Mina eyes Dahyun, propping her chin up on one hand.

“You look so cute right now. Makes me want to take you home.” 

Mina always complimented her like this, like the older girl was always trying to catch her off guard. She does though, and Dahyun has long ago stopped trying to conceal how much it affected her each time.

“You said your friend invited you here. Is she coming out to see us?”

Mina hums with a shake of the head. “I don’t think so. She’s very busy as head chef. Do you want to meet her?”

Dahyun refuses, “Oh, it’s alright. I don’t want to be a bother. Being here with you is enough.”

The older girl beams at her. “Okay. Do you want to continue this somewhere else? I think my bed misses you.”

/

She had probably underestimated the woman’s overall persistence and—okay— _effort_ in seeing her. Every single time was at the drive-thru, and it was whenever she, according to her, “could drop by.” ‘Whenever’ also means that this is the fifth time Nayeon has come over to see Dahyun this month, and also the third time that the younger girl didn’t refuse the offer to drive her home in that beat up, probably from the late 90s to early 2000s, squeaky minivan. 

“You know eating fast food that often isn’t good for your health.”

Nayeon’s eyebrows knit together. “What do you mean? The fry is vegan.”

Nayeon pulls the passenger door open and gestures for Dahyun to get in with a bow and curtsy. 

Dahyun rolls her eyes. “Based on what you’re doing right now I think it would be safe to assume that you are also not very bright.” Nayeon lifts her head, narrows her eyes, and looks at the door. 

The back of the car is facing the bush, sides closed off by two other cars that are parked on each side. Dahyun can’t possibly get through. Nayeon gives Dahyun an awkward laugh and gingerly shuts the door. 

“Haha....right. Um, anyway. Hop on in.” Nayeon walks around the front and gets inside the vehicle. Dahyun follows suit. 

The younger girl picks up the conversation, “Fries _are_ vegan. But junk is junk.” 

Nayeon starts the engine. “But that’s a whole vegetable!” 

Dahyun places a palm over her face. Then she tells the woman, “If you’re going to live with an addiction, the least you could do is not damage your other organs.” 

“Yeah yeah, I get it. I’m way past thirteen.” Nayeon waves it off and drives them out of the lot. “What about you? I assume the berating means you don’t have any.” 

Dahyun nods at once. “No, I don’t.” 

The older between the two has her eyes glued to the road. By now, she’s already figured out that the girl is easily annoyed by the roughness of the vehicle due to the old suspension. The girl is sensitive, perhaps, wholly exhausted from the amount of entitled (and some dumb) customers raising their voice at the register. From the little time they’ve spent together talking in the vehicle, Nayeon figures that this is one of those days. 

“Good. Don’t do it.”

“Why? ‘Cause I’ll die early?”

“No. I mean yes, it’s bad for you. What I’m pertaining to is the mental effects. You’re young, you’re better off without that shit.”

“How do you know I’m young?” Dahyun raises an eyebrow at her.

“You said you were in college.” Nayeon replies. 

The younger girl turns her head to look out the window. She hums, “I did.”

“Well then how do you know I don’t already experience that ‘shit?’”

Nayeon snorts at the question, nods, and then hums, “Fair enough. No sane girl would let a person like me drive them home from work in a sketchy old car.” 

Dahyun shakes her head at the description, but breathes a short laugh anyway at how logical it actually is for her not to trust Nayeon. 

And yet she does. Dahyun would agree that the situation _is_ strange. It feels as though letting this sorta-kind stranger do her the favor of saving her time and energy from walking—and spending time with her, even just briefly for the duration of the trip—is the perfect combination of distant and familiar. She might even say that it’s nice. Maybe if Nayeon asked her about it.

They’re two lonely people who found each other (or rather, Dahyun caving in to Nayeon’s regular pestering) at a time in both their lives that, if you ask Dahyun, isn’t a point in her life that her older self would recall as one of her best moments. She could indulge herself a little, couldn’t she? Mina excluded, for the sake of this subject.

“So, any other hobbies? Besides disturbing the peace of fast food drive-thru lanes and disrupting the work flow of employees.”

“What, it’s not ‘harassing’ anymore? I must’ve gone down your naughty list and up through the nice.”

Only four turns left until they’re home.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself,” Dahyun huffs.

“Why can’t I? If you’re going to keep making comments about my ugly lifestyle then I might as well take whatever good you’re gonna say about me,” she snickers, “I have to be honest though, giving me your number last week was a huge step.”

The younger girl puts on a straight face as she recalls the slew of messages Nayeon sends her every day. “I already regret it.”

Three turns.

“You don’t even reply to me! And you could at least type the whole word, you know. Are you a boomer? You always reply with a _K._ ”

“I was at work, I’m not exactly allowed to be seen with a phone in my hand,” the younger girl answers.

“Well what about—”

Two. They’re at a stoplight in one of the smaller roads. Nayeon pauses for a second to come up with something.

“—what about my other messages, hm? Like, what’s the point of giving me your number if you’re just going to ignore me.” Nayeon pouts at the end of her sentence. 

“So I’ll know how much energy I have to save. Less for the walk, and more for—” _you._ Dahyun faces her. “—are you seriously sulking right now? Stop giving me that look.”

Nayeon’s expression quickly switches to a smile and she returns her gaze to the front. The car moves forward again. 

“You know, you could just tell me if you want texts that are _more fun_ —”

Dahyun turns to the window in horror. “Oh my god, please, no.” The woman in the driver seat merely responds with a laugh. They stay silent for the rest of the ride, the atmosphere in the car considerably lighter. Nayeon truly is annoying, but she makes up for it with her frolicky nature. Dahyun sees the corner of her own lips turn up through her reflection in the window.

“We’re here,” Nayeon declares. “Yeah, I know, _thank you for the ride_ blah blah blah _._ You don’t have to do it every time. I did this on my own, so, don’t go trigger happy on the thank you’s. Save it for work.”

The younger girl scoffs, “I haven’t even said anything. Plus, it isn’t very polite. I’m going to keep saying thank you even when you become one of the ladies who’s gonna tell me I messed up their order even though I gave them exactly what they said they wanted.”

Nayeon chuckles, “Not far from the truth. I _am_ that customer.” 

Dahyun agrees, “You are.”

“Would you—”

“Thank—”

They share a look and both burst into light laughter. The two of them sigh in unison afterwards, and Nayeon gestures for Dahyun to go first.

“I meant to say thank you, of course. So thank you, Nayeon-ssi. I really appreciate the rides. I have to admit, it _has_ become less tiring.”

“You’re welcome, Dahyun-ssi. And _I_ would also appreciate it if you responded to my texts with a _sentence_ that isn’t both one word and one letter.”

Dahyun rolls her eyes albeit with a smile on her face. “I’ll try. Good night, Nayeon.” She then unlocks the door and hops out, turning around for a moment to wave at the older girl. She shuts the door, enters the house, and Nayeon sees one window light up after the front door locks with a click.

“Good night, Dahyun.”

/

It’s a Saturday night. On break, Dahyun’s phone pings with a notification.

_Mina sent you a message._

_Hey. Just wanted to let you know that I’m picking you up after work. I’ll buy us some fancy takeout :)_

_p.s. do you happen to have my sleep robe?_

Without hesitation, she replies.

_Ok. See u. :D and yes, it’s at home._

Mina responds just as fastly.

_I see. I’m sleeping over by the way._

That’s only a few hours away. She takes in the last bite of her sandwich and dumps the crumpled wrapping in the trash to get back to work. 

  
  


“Hey,” she says, circling an arm behind Dahyun’s waist before planting her lips on the younger girl’s. Dahyun is taken aback by the sudden display of affection, but she holds Mina’s face and responds anyway. It’s a hard kiss that lasts for a few seconds. Just slow, and seemingly unmoving if you don’t look enough.

“I’ve missed you. How was work?” is the first thing Mina utters when they pull away. She breathes it in a whisper against Dahyun’s lips. 

“Less tired now that you’re here,” she whispers back, “It’s my day-off now.”

Mina licks her lips as she increases the distance between their faces. “Any type of cuisine you fancy tonight?” 

Dahyun purses her lips into a thin line. “Are there even any restaurants open right now?”

“I know someone.” Mina tilts her head with a smile. “Head chef, remember? Get in.”

Mina unlocks the phone on the mounted stand and pulls up a number from her contacts. She places the call on loudspeaker for Dahyun to hear. 

_“Hello?”_

“Are you at home? We’re hungry.”

_“Who’s ‘we?’”_

“Me. Someone—my date, from the opening.”

_“Ooh! How delightful. I’d be happy to cook for her.”_

“Amazing. We’ll be there in twenty.”

_“Alright. I’ll check the pantry. Does she have any allergies?”_

Mina turns to her. Dahyun shakes her head ‘no.’ “No allergies,” answers Mina.

_“That’s great. I’ll make you something nice.”_

“Counting on it.”

_“Hmm.”_

Mina hums back, ending the call.

“Are we going to your friend’s restaurant?” queries Dahyun.

Mina faces her, hands starting to fumble with the car controls. “Nope. We’re going to her house.”

“So you’re Dahyun,” the woman greets, grinning as she switches her gaze to Mina. They look about the same age, but it seems the latter prefers to call her by the title of an older sister. “She looks like a baby, Mina-yah. Are you sure she’s not underage?” Her sight then goes back to the youngest in the room. With narrowed eyes, she asks, “Is she making you do weird things? Now’s the time to speak up. Mina is my friend, but I will never tolerate such behavior.”

“Eonni!” Mina slaps the woman’s arm. “Stop teasing. You’re gonna scare her. Dahyun-ah, don’t listen to her.”

Well this is new.

“Anyway. Dahyun, this is Jeongyeon. The restaurant owner.”

Jeongyeon straightens her back and flashes her a cheeky grin. “Hello, Dahyun. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jeongyeon-ssi. I had a great time at your restaurant.” Dahyun returns the greeting with a polite smile. She’s always been good at this. For some reason though, she finds herself feeling a bit flustered by the woman’s staring.

“Why, thank you for saying that. And you can just call me your eonni. I would love to have a baby sister that’s as adorable and as pretty as you are.”

Dahyun blushes at the doting remark. “O-okay. If you say so, eo-eonni.”

Jeongyeon coos, “Aww, she’s so cute! Where’d you find her, Mina? Dahyun, do you have any other friends? I would _love_ to meet them.”

A warning glare is sent her way, as well as a flick to the forehead. “Ow, okay okay. Come on into the kitchen, you two.”

There’s a selection of ingredients already placed at the countertop. Mina pulls out two stools and gestures for Dahyun to take a seat. She then sits beside the younger girl, placing a hand on her thigh afterwards. Dahyun turns sideways a bit to accommodate the touch.

“I’m making a classic ribeye steak with a side of stir-fried vegetables. With one special secret ingredient of course.” Jeongyeon takes out her knife and begins sharpening it with the rod. She winks at Dahyun as she does so, and Mina could only roll her eyes at it. 

“Oh, but before that, some appetizers.”

Dahyun watches her work with the knife, seamlessly chopping and slicing up ingredients. Jeongyeon is tall and slim, somewhat curvy; her face is framed by shiny and soft-looking hair, a beautiful jawline, and has full lips that wonderfully complement her almond-shaped eyes. The woman looked absolutely charming behind the bar. 

Dahyun thinks she’s very attractive. She’s certain that the ladies would swoon at the mere act of Jeongyeon sprinkling salt and pepper on the pan.

As the minutes pass by for Jeongyeon’s cooking, Mina has taken to gradually scooting her chair closer to Dahyun’s. 

This does not go unnoticed by the eldest, and she makes it known by calling her out, “You guys know there’s a sofa over there, right? Dahyun, please collect your woman.” She turns to Mina. “You—not in front of the food, please. Thank you.”

Dahyun laughs at that, but she nods and hops down from the stool. She takes Mina’s hand and lightly pulls to gesture for her to do the same. The older girl scowls at Jeongyeon before following Dahyun to the living room. The space was designed such that one would have to turn when going there from the kitchen, so they weren’t going to be seen if Jeongyeon’s eyes happened to flitter around.

They make themselves comfortable on the seat, Dahyun placing herself right beside the armrest. Mina glues the side of her thighs to Dahyun’s.

“Hey,” Mina starts, “Wanna makeout?” and ends the question with a smirk. Dahyun’s eyes widen at the scandalous proposition. And rightfully so, since Mina already has her torso facing the younger girl, her head tilted just slightly to the side.

Dahyun’s mouth goes dry. “H-here?” 

Mina nods as if that was an obvious thing to ask. “Yeah. Why not?”

“We’re not alone.”

Sure, she had a history of sweeping Dahyun off her feet at the most unconventional moments, but never like this. 

Never thought Mina was like this.

The older of the two looks left, right, and then at Dahyun. “No one’s here though? It’s just us.” Ah, she’s toying with her. 

At that realization, Dahyun groans, “Eonni! Why do you guys keep teasing me…”

Mina giggles and leans back a little. She reaches out to stroke Dahyun’s hair, fixing some strands that were scattered by her face. Maybe she loves seeing Dahyun’s face a little too much. She gazes softly into the girl’s eyes. “I’m just kidding, Dahyun-ah. Our moments are ours.”

But she always knew Mina was sweet.

Then, she leans in, capturing Dahyun’s lips in a soft kiss. It’s chaste, but the timing makes it long enough for Jeongyeon to accuse them of desecrating her living room.

“Hey! Is this _your_ house?” The question is directed at Mina who is just about done with opening her eyes. 

In a softer voice and a gentler expression, she turns to the other girl, “Dahyun-ah, come. Food’s ready.”

Nayeon enters the fastfood driveway on a chilly Sunday night. Upon reaching the first stop of the drive-thru, she waves merrily at the camera. 

“Good evening! Welcome to McDonald’s. What shall I get you, ma’am?” says a deep voice from the speaker. 

Nayeon’s face drops. “Uh—Dahyun?”

“Oh, I’m afraid Dahyun isn’t here tonight to serve you.”

Her forehead scrunches in confusion. “Did she quit?”

“No, it’s her day-off. Um, I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but we have to proceed. Would you still like to get something?” Nayeon hears the tone. It almost sounds like pity, one that accompanies apologetic smiles. That or he just wanted to get it over with. _Stop reading into it_.

“Yeah, sorry. Just a vanilla cone, please. Thank you.”

“One vanilla cone," he confirms. "Please proceed to the next window for payment.”

The woman wonders where the girl is (probably at home, but she doesn’t think about that as she tries to process _why_ Dahyun didn’t tell her that she didn’t work on Sunday nights) when she’s hit with the realization that she doesn’t know her schedule. They never really talked about that kind of stuff. Come to think of it, Dahyun only ever shared details when asked. And the questions were usually not reciprocated.

With the dessert in one hand, she types up a text to send Dahyun using the other.

After reading it however, she instantly deletes the whole message. She hums to herself, thinking. It’s Monday tomorrow, so she’s more than sure Dahyun will be there at night. They did meet on a Monday, after all. Nayeon remembers.

“Dinner was nice. Unexpected setting, but very nice.”

Mina hums, “Not technically. But it did feel like having an intimate dinner at a great restaurant.”

“Jeongyeon-ssi was really nice too.”

“Replacing me already, Dahyun-ssi?” Mina grins.

“H-huh?” 

Mina only chuckles as she makes a turn into Dahyun’s neighborhood.

At home, Dahyun sets down her phone on the first flat surface she finds. The dining area is closer to the front door yet too far from the bedroom for her liking. She stretches her arms up, her body feeling like a tonne of bricks. Interacting with people outside work and especially after work can be exhausting.

She turns away from the table where her bag is also resting and finds Mina in front of her, Mina who readily kisses her before pulling her towards the bedroom. 

“Hey…”

“Hey,” Dahyun replies, gasping, smiling up at her. Mina had led them to lie on the bed during the kiss. 

“You,” the older girl says, “Jeongyeon really likes you, I think.” She tugs on the hem of Dahyun’s shirt to pull it over the girl’s head. Once that’s out of the way, she proceeds to leave a trail of kisses on the column of Dahyun’s throat and down below her collarbones. However, the younger girl gently pushes Mina up by the shoulders. 

“Wait, let me shower first.”

“No time—” Mina kneels then, sitting atop Dahyun’s hips. “—do you still have my favorite soap?”

“It’s in there. I don’t ever really use it.”

“You should.”

Mina dismounts from the bed and pulls Dahyun up by the hand. Giggling, the latter grabs a fresh towel from her closet, her other hand occupied by Mina who was frantically tugging at her hand.

They’re sitting in the tub as Mina massages Dahyun’s shoulders from behind. The bath tub was one of the best things they got for Dahyun’s house since they finally had the convenience of doing this more often. (The old one that came with the house was filthy.) Mina had her own tub, of course, but her place was farther from the younger girl’s work.

“Say, do you...have any other plans?” Mina asks.

Dahyun moans at the pressure against her shoulders. She needed this. “You mean like, for later?”

“I mean...life, in general. Have you ever thought about what you’re going to do after graduating? Like, I don’t know, settling down or something.”

The younger girl turns in place to look at her. Mina drops her hands into the water. “Why do you ask?”

The older girl shrugs, “Just curious.”

“Hm. Well, I haven’t gone that far yet. I should be thinking about returning first, don’t you think? _Then_ I’ll think about that,” Dahyun answers, grinning up at Mina who returns the smile. Mina then quickly gives her a peck on the lips before the latter goes back to her earlier position. “Now give me that massage. Ugh, my muscles are so tired.”

_Nayeon sent you a message._

“I want to settle down.” Mina’s voice echoes into the bathroom as she resumes her work on the girl’s body. Dahyun stiffens, but she relaxes soon after. “Yeah?” she says.

“Yeah, I do.” 

Dahyun smiles weakly, but it’s genuine. She feels like putty under Mina’s touch. “That sounds nice. Would you be buying a new house? One with a lot, like you once mentioned. Not like an apartment.” 

Mina lets out a chuckle. “I did say that, huh? Yeah, one with a lot. It’s just different living in a real house. You want to make it a _real home._ ”

The younger girl nods in agreement. “Yup. You can do whatever you want, make it however you want. You’ve always been independent too. I know you won’t be lonely.”

It’s quite strange and also fascinating how a casual remark can mean so many things. 

“I-I was wondering,” Mina stammers out, a manner of talking quite unusual for her. She's nervous, Dahyun can tell. “Would you...come with me? If I wanted to settle down, somewhere far from the city? I was planning to leave someone in charge. I want to have a life.” 

“Mina…” _Move in with her? Is this what she’s asking?_ “You want me to move in with you?”

“Yes. If you want to, that is.”

The water sploshes as Dahyun turns to fully face her. Mina’s hands move on their own to settle on the girl’s knees. “Mina, I can’t.”

Mina frowns. “Why?” One of her hands finds its way to Dahyun’s nape.

“Because, I—” she stops midway, sighing. “I just—it’s not that I don’t want to be with you. I do, I always have, but—I can’t think about this now. Just—not now, okay? I’m sorry.” 

Dahyun has always imagined what it would be like to have Mina within arm’s reach. Her undivided attention. But now that it’s actually about to happen? She doesn’t know why, but the thought of living with the older girl was always just _that._ A thought. Something she merely pictured. A dream. 

Perhaps the things that are too good to be true are sometimes better off unattained. 

Mina nods in understanding and smiles. “Okay,” she says, then softly, “Talk to me when you’re ready?” She affectionately rubs the back of Dahyun’s head with her fingertips. The latter nods as well. “I will.”

_(2) Nayeon sent you a message._

“I like this. This is nice.” She smiles and cups Dahyun’s face with her other hand, thumb straightening her eyebrows. Then it goes down to her eyelids. Dahyun shuts her eyes at the touch. Mina’s thumb continues to go south, finally brushing against the girl’s lips.

Dahyun opens up and lets the girl softly brush her lower lip downwards, her lip responding by pushing back and up. She kisses the pad of Mina’s thumb. 

“Hey,” Mina whispers. 

Dahyun’s eyes flutter open. “Hey,” she whispers back.

The older girl leans in for a kiss, one and more that would last until Dahyun pulls away, telling her that the water’s gone cold and that they need to get out. Mina would agree with a laugh, saying how she can’t feel her fingertips anymore because of how wrinkled they are. 

The kisses don’t end however, as she places more and more, and _more_ on the younger’s skin, and Dahyun will respond by tugging her impossibly closer, flesh flush against hers.

“Mina...” she manages to breathe out.

“I know. I’m here.”

Mina collapses on the bed at noon, and Dahyun falls asleep tucked under her chin. They both sigh in exhaustion, content with the night's events.

**_Monday, 5 PM_ **

Nayeon gleefully struts to her car. On the way to the house, driving the familiar set of _way too many turns,_ she sings.

At the world’s seemingly longest stoplight, she picks up her phone, finding nothing on the lockscreen. She sends Dahyun a text telling her she’ll be picking her up, assuming that the girl was sleeping and hasn't had a chance to check her phone yet. Surprises aren’t quite her thing, although this is just more like a heads-up. 

At Dahyun’s house, there’s no doorbell. Nayeon knocks on the gate while also ringing up the girl’s mobile, just in case. When she doesn’t pick up, Nayeon takes to knocking incessantly and calls her out from outside. 

“Dahyun! Dahyun, are you there? It’s Nayeon!”

Silence. She tries one more time. The phone, the knocking, and the half-yelling.

“Dahyun! You’re not sleeping, are you?”

The door finally opens, but the girl that comes out is not whom she was expecting. Mina walks to the gate, puffy-faced and yawning, wrapping the robe tighter around herself. Nayeon stares at the other woman. She looks a little younger than her, but certainly not Dahyun’s age either.

“Um, good morning? Oh, sorry, good afternoon. How may I help you?” Mina, in all her beauty-rested glory, stifles another yawn at the end of her sentence.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe :D


	3. the smell of smoke would hang around this long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timing is everything. It's convenient sometimes, and never perfect. 
> 
> The two people currently closest to Dahyun meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> late update but here it is. happy holidays!

“Um, good morning? Oh, sorry, good afternoon. How may I help you?” Mina stifles another yawn at the end of her sentence.

Dahyun turns in bed, opening a tired eye at the absence of the other body that she remembers falling asleep next to. A whine escapes her throat, head flopping down on the pillow as she faces the bedroom door. 

With a groggy voice, Dahyun calls out to her, “Mina...come back to bed.” 

She thinks Mina must have woken up from her alarm, so she slips her hand under the pillows to look for her phone. Finding nothing, she turns to the bedside table.

“Ah, shit. It’s not here.” 

With a groan, Dahyun lies on her back again, shutting her eyes as she lets the consciousness settle in for a bit.

  
  


“Uh- I uh,” are the first words that Nayeon could manage. The woman in Dahyun’s house is awfully pretty. And those legs—god. Nayeon wishes she was blind right now, but also, not really. She wills herself to focus on Mina’s face. Whoever this is, she’d say Dahyun had very good taste. 

But she won’t though, not when the presence of said pretty girl looking absolutely like she spent the night here has implications that Nayeon doesn’t want to begin thinking about.

“I’m looking for Dahyun? Dahyun lives here, right?” Looking away, she mumbles, “I swear I just dropped her off last week…”

The younger woman musters up a polite smile. Nayeon knows it’s a pretty one when she looks at her. 

“Dahyun is sleeping. She didn’t mention any visitors, though.”

Neither did she, to Nayeon. Not like Dahyun was supposed to.

“Are you from work? Should I call for her?” 

“No! I mean yeah, from work, I guess, ” —‘from work’ technically— “but there’s no need for that. I don’t want to disturb her. Could you just tell her I dropped by? She hasn’t been answering her phone.”

“Oh, sorry about that. Dahyun was very tired last night. What is your name? I’ll be sure to inform her.”

Nayeon smiles, feeling awkward. This woman’s words sound posh and very polite that she doesn’t know if she envies her or if she wants to be her. “Nayeon.”

Mina smiles back; and it’s _so pretty_ , Nayeon thinks, despite the woman’s disheveled appearance. “Alright, Nayeon-ssi. She will be up soon, I think. I’ll tell her as soon as she wakes up.”

It must’ve been a _very_ tiring night for Dahyun to be waking up at this hour. So tired that she’s gonna be late, Nayeon thinks.

“Thank you!” she says, a little too enthusiastic. “I’ll uh...go now. Thanks again.” Nayeon bows her head a little before turning around and heading to her car. For some reason, it feels weird coming here today. The feeling of being an unwanted visitor lies heavy in her chest. 

  
  


Walking back inside the house, Mina cranes her neck and stretches her arms.

She sees Dahyun’s phone vibrating on the kitchen table, so she grabs the device and brings it to the bedroom. Inside, she finds the younger girl groaning with her eyes closed. The sheets are even more crumpled than when she got up earlier and one of the pillows lay at the foot of the bed. 

She crosses her arms and leans against the doorway with an amused smile. “What are you doing?” 

Dahyun opens her eyes and directs a scowl at Mina. “Where did you go? I was looking for you.” She pouts at the end of her sentence. 

“Someone was at the door for you. I told her you were sleeping. She just left.”

“For me? Who was it?” Dahyun makes grabby hands at Mina, seeing her mobile in the girl’s hand. “Gimme.”

“Said her name was Nayeon. Is she your co-worker? I didn’t know you carpooled.” Mina lies down. She hands Dahyun her phone and clears the stray hairs off the frame of the girl’s face. The latter moves closer after reading the time, burying her face in Mina’s chest.

Dahyun answers in a muffled voice, “Yeah, I guess.” 

“That’s very nice of her.”

“Yeah. Ugh...I want to sleep in so bad, but I’m going to be late,” Dahyun moans, hugging her tighter.

The older girl chuckles. “Sleep in then. It’s just one day, I’m sure your boss will understand.”

“As if,” Dahyun snorts, “that’s easy for you to say, little miss CEO.”

“Oh, come on.” Mina rolls her eyes with a smile. She then pulls away to get a good look at the younger girl. “Speaking of which, you sure you really don’t want the job? You know, you can train as you go, and I can employ you even without a degree. I don’t see why you can’t take it.”

Dahyun shrugs, “Well, you know. I just really want to finish college. I don’t want to leave anything hanging.”

Mina chuckles. It’s truly admirable of the younger girl, being handed the easy way out and yet choosing to work hard, still, despite life having already been harsh to her earlier on. Although to Dahyun, her parents’ absence was never a loss. They weren’t there to parent in the first place, and she’s thankful for that at least. You wouldn’t be missing something you never had anyway, and them bailing out on her before she could even suck on a pacifier is definitely Exhibit A. 

“Alright,” she says, “Let me know if you change your mind, okay?” 

_I want you by my side. Now, more than ever._

Dahyun nods and presses her body back on the older girl’s. Mina feels the smile against her chest when the girl breathes her in. 

_I love you, I think._

The two of them lay there for a few moments as the sound of Dahyun’s breathing filled Mina’s ears. Mina tries to ignore the heat in her neck and ears as her mind gets bombarded by her own thoughts. 

They both get ready to leave when Dahyun’s snoozed alarm rings. She almost doesn’t it make it on time—just about thirty seconds early—since Mina insisted on an impromptu makeout session in the car just outside the restaurant. (Dahyun had to push her away when her hands started roaming.) 

She can’t say that she doesn’t love it when Mina messes around sometimes, but she has to go to work. They bid each other goodbye after she finally removes Mina’s wandering hands. 

  
  


**/**

It’s the first working day of the week for Dahyun once again. It’s also the first time Nayeon hasn’t flooded her inbox with random emojis at the start of her shift. Still, by the end of it, the familiar vehicle pulls up on the driveway. One of the headlights is busted, and Nayeon orders the usual with a pensive look on her face.

“Hey, you’re here.” Dahyun is quick to notice that something is off with the woman as she hands her the paper bag. “Everything okay?” 

Nayeon shakes her head to ground herself. “Yeah, no, everything’s fine. See you after three?”

The girl in the takeout window nods. “Okay. See you after three.”

**  
  
  
**

“So, wanna tell me what happened to your car?” Dahyun grins at her from the passenger seat. She’s guessing it’s going to be a funny story, same as the other ones Nayeon had shared before. 

“I hit a kid,” Nayeon answers mindlessly. 

The younger girl touches her shoulder to get a better look. “You what?” 

Nayeon subtly shrugs the hand off and starts driving them out the parking lot. 

The tone in which she said it made Dahyun confused as to whether it was meant to sound heartless, like if Nayeon was pretending to secretly be a serial killer, or if Nayeon was actually serious and was going to ask her if she could help hide the body. Dahyun’s mind is leaning more towards the second scenario. 

“Oh shit, not like that.” Nayeon laughs. “Let me rephrase. Some emo kid thought it would be fun to go out in broad daylight with a baseball bat to smash innocent people’s cars. I was sleeping when it happened. Heard some people from the neighborhood got their side mirrors destroyed. Fucking teenagers.”

“Then why’d you say you hit the kid?” Dahyun scoffs, but is actually relieved at the explanation. 

The woman turns to smirk at her. “I guess it was a dream. I _was_ very pissed.”

Dahyun can only shake her head. “Only you would dream of hitting an innocent kid.”

Nayeon wags a finger in the air. “Nuh uh. Not innocent. That kid did thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to those people’s cars, including mine.” Dahyun tries to interject, but the woman beats her to it. “Oh, and I know that look. No, I do not have insurance. Plus, there aren’t any CCTVs in my neighborhood, so we can’t even find out whose parents to ask for repair money.”

“Well, let’s hope they come forward to the authorities on their own.”

Nayeon huffs at the optimism. “Yeah, like they’ll find out. I was a whack teenager as well, although I wasn’t out destroying private property. I’m just gonna assume that the kid probably never tells his or her parents anything.” 

They’re halfway to Dahyun’s house. 

“That sounds more tragic than your smashed headlight,” says Dahyun.

They don’t talk about anything for at least five minutes. Nayeon’s mind is running with thoughts of asking Dahyun about the girl in her house. On the other hand, she doesn’t know if that would be a weird thing to ask, so she decides to remain mum.

Then about a minute later, the words just seemingly blurt themselves out.

“I met your girlfriend.”

Okay, that’s not exactly how she wanted to start the topic, but it’s all she can think about. _Dahyun’s girlfriend._

“My _what?_ ” Dahyun looks at her, brows knitting in confusion.

Nayeon is internally slapping herself right now.

The woman becomes more unsure by the second then. “Your uh, girlfriend. I went to your house to pick you up. She was the one who answered the door.”

“Oh _._ ” _Mina._ “She’s n—”

“It was embarrassing, actually.” Nayeon chuckles nervously. “I looked like a weirdo yelling outside the gate.”

“That wasn’t—she’s not my girlfriend,” Dahyun clarifies, although it’s with a little more urgency than she intended.

“ _Oh._ So, friends with benefits then?” Nayeon teases, “She kind of looked freshly fu—” 

Nayeon is impressed at how fast she composed herself, although she doesn’t really know what she feels about the declaration; on one hand she’s convinced she feels relieved.

“I—not really, but something like that, yeah,” Dahyun quickly explains, “But...not really, no. We’ve been together for some time....two years, if I remember correctly.”

But on the other, her mind is telling her she needs to be careful, and that swooping in too soon will put her in a precarious situation. 

Hence, she resorts to dancing around it by just being herself.

“Wow. Yay commitment?”

The younger girl groans at the teasing, “I knew you would say something like this.” She shakes her head, sighing. “Why did I even bother telling you…”

Nayeon likes to joke around a lot. She always finds a way to make their trips interesting. Dahyun is amazed at how the woman can spew out so many words in such a short amount of time. She pretends to be annoyed or disinterested, but she actually appreciates all the talking. It’s a nice little break from all the buzzing at work. 

“I _did_ ask.” Nayeon puts the car to a stop. “We’re here.” 

The trip feels as if it went by faster than usual. Dahyun finds herself wanting to stay in the car just for a few more minutes. Maybe she wants to explain further about how there’s _nothing between her and Mina_ , but that would be a lie, and—she doesn’t know why she even wanted to say something, god, what is she even thinking—

“So...just to be clear. Hot girl in your house—haggard as hell _and_ glowing—oh wow, she really was glowing, good for you, Dahyun—anyway, hot girl in your house, not your girlfriend?” Nayeon’s smile is playful, earning her a roll of Dahyun’s eyes. Of course the woman had time to check Mina out. 

For the second time, she clarifies for her, “No, not my girlfriend. And thank you for the ride. May I go inside my house now, Nayeon-ssi?” 

“Of course. You’re welcome, Dahyun-ssi.” Nayeon gestures towards the direction of the house. “Go on in.”

A smile creeps up on both their faces. It’s good banter. 

Despite asking to exit the vehicle—formally yet playfully so—Dahyun makes no move to open the car door, even with her seatbelt already unbuckled. She turns to Nayeon who’s currently tracing the lines on the gear stick, and then swiftly leans over to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Oh?” Nayeon sputters out.

“For the ride,” Dahyun whispers before pulling herself back to her seat. Then, in a normal voice, she concludes the night, “Good night, Nayeon.”

Dahyun steps out of the vehicle. She doesn’t look back as she walks into the house, and doesn’t see Nayeon in a blushing mess, although she does this because she wants to hide a smile of her own.

Nayeon’s eyes follow the sight of Dahyun’s back as she herself manages to whisper, “Good night.” 

She steps on the pedal before she realizes, in her excitement, that she forgot she had actually shut the engine. She presses her forehead against the steering wheel for a few seconds to calm her breathing and the beating of her heart. 

It felt nice, soft, leaving a light burning sensation right below her cheekbone. The stupid smile she now has on doesn’t leave her face for the next few hours that come by. ****

**/**

Dahyun sees her life flash right before her eyes as her heartbeat pounds into her ears, knees stiff after having recovered from slipping and falling on her ass from what seems to be spilled grease on the kitchen floor. She had almost landed on her back.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!”

She takes a moment to stand upright and upon recovering, straightens her uniform and puts her chin up at the highschooler. The kid is taller than her, and she’s new. 

“It’s fine. It happens,” she tells her co-worker, who is currently in charge of loading up the fryer, “But be careful next time. Someone could get seriously injured. You’re lucky I wasn’t hurt.”

“Yes, of course. I’m really sorry.” The kid bows to her before squatting down to clean the mess. Dahyun didn’t want to give the kid much shit for the accident; she knows what it feels like to be the newbie at such a busy place. 

She carries on with what seems to be her last order before clocking out. With less than five minutes left to her shift, she puts on her best employee smile.

Dahyun ruffles out the dents of the ponytail on her hair as she trudges through the parking lot. Nayeon hadn’t come in during her entire shift, so she gets on with her normal mode of transportation.

Before she’s halfway through leaving the premises though, she spots Mina’s car parked just a few meters away and promptly makes her way over. 

The older girl is inside with her eyes closed, doing what seems to be her meditation method: listening to her favorite classical music tunes. It calms her when she wants to think; Dahyun has observed her putting said music on whenever the CEO had to make drastic decisions. _It’s work stuff,_ Mina would always tell her. 

Dahyun knocks on the window, effectively gaining her attention. Mina rolls the window down.

“Hey, baby,” she greets, smiling up at Dahyun, “Done with work?”

She smiles back. “Yeah, I was just about to leave until I saw your car.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing you saw me because I totally lost track of time. I would’ve missed you.” She gestures for the younger girl to lean down. “Come here.” Then, she holds Dahyun by the nape, cupping the girl’s face with her other hand.

Mina’s tongue darts out to lick the line separating Dahyun’s upper and lower lip. Surprised, the latter closes her eyes and leans in to hold onto the part of the car door where the window has gone under. She has got to stop doing this—Dahyun’s heart can’t take anymore of these unexpected moves. It’s new, and it’s like she’s trying to win Dahyun over, even though she’s got no reason to. She’s always had her, at least since two years ago. The gesture melts into a lazy kiss, one that expresses the longing and relief of just seeing each other. 

“Mm,” Dahyun hums as she looks into Mina’s eyes when they pull away. A smirk makes its way onto her face. “What’s going on?”

Mina only gives her a short kiss and exhales. She lets go of Dahyun’s face and alights the vehicle. 

Standing in the parking lot, their bodies come close together, Mina holding Dahyun by the hips and Dahyun’s hands hanging by the older girl’s neck. 

Mina hasn’t given her an answer, so she proceeds with another question. “Had a rough day?”

Dahyun worries for her. Mina always listened to classical music and would be more daring or affectionate whenever something big was happening at work. It usually wasn’t the good kind of big.

She shakes her head. “No, it actually went quite well. I got the board to say yes. You were the first person I wanted to talk to about it. I had a busy day but I came here as soon as I got my rest.”

Dahyun leaves feather-like touches at the back of her neck. It makes her want to rush out of this parking lot and speed to whoever’s place they feel like going to. The younger girl might as well be her human stress ball with how Mina gets when they’re alone.

“Oh. I just thought...never mind. But, I really think that what you’re looking to say here is, ‘I miss you,’ hm?”

“Yeah, fine. I missed you.” Mina rolls her eyes. “I miss you a lot, Dahyun.” The admission is so genuine that it makes Dahyun’s insides swirl. Mina, too, can be adorable sometimes. 

Dahyun beams. “I did too.” 

“I’m serious. I miss you, like, all the time.” 

“I know.” Dahyun leans in for another kiss.

**  
  
**

Nayeon is running late. 

She’s just in time though, if she was intending to watch Dahyun initiate a kiss that, according to her, lasts _way_ too long. _Her Dahyun_ , she wants to say, actually, is kissing someone at the moment, someone who is clearly not Nayeon. She wants to say that but she only just what, had a mere kiss on the cheek? From the woman’s perspective, it looks like a zoomed in scene from a film wherein she can hear the slick sounds of lips and tongues meeting and sucking while the two actors’ laboured breathing become even more pronounced. Thanks, audio team. 

She can’t hear anything from where they stand, but the audio team might as well have been present because it feels like an intense tear-jerking piece is also playing in the background. It would have been effective too, because she’s suddenly heavy with jealousy, face heating up with how embarrassing this is. 

Good thing they can’t see her, so she can just keep the embarrassment to herself. The small box in her jacket pocket feels heavy then, as if containing a wild animal rattling its cage begging her to let it out.

Nayeon quickly hops back into her van and exits into the road. She knew about this anyway, but she didn’t think she’d be there to see it in action. Scratch that, she didn’t even think she’d see anything close to it, like a hug, or maybe some hand-holding. A peck to the cheek. She didn’t think Dahyun was the PDA type. Also did not think she’d be feeling this way. Did not think about so many things. She didn’t want to—

She pulls over to the side of the road and turns on the hazard lights. With ragged breaths, Nayeon takes out a lighter and a fresh pack of cigarettes that she’s nearly forgotten she has. She frantically rips the plastic off the packaging, immediately pulling out a stick which she then lights up. 

Inhale. Hold. Five seconds. 

Then she exhales, as if there were any more left for her to breathe out when most of the smoke had already clung to her lungs.

Just when she thought she had something good going on, this happens. 

**  
  
  
**

The two of them pull away. Dahyun looks around the parking lot for any bystanders.

“What?” Mina asks, giving her an additional peck. “Looking for an audience?” she teases. 

She faces Mina again. “No, it just...it felt like someone was watching, that’s all.”

Mina scans the area as well. “Well, nobody’s here.”

“Yeah, nobody,” Dahyun replies, “Shall we go now?” 

Mina smiles and pats Dahyun’s cheek. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They enter the car and set off to Dahyun’s house to make up for the days before that they couldn’t see each other. Apparently these ‘days’ include those from when the older girl had been busier—meaning, months’ worth of time apart—and she conveys it well with how long they stay awake before finally passing out, bodies filled with exhaustion-induced endorphins. 

/

Mina had to deal with a surge of paperwork to do, so the past week has been quiet. Dahyun is used to her days being filled only with work but it was never like this. She needs the noise—needs the interaction. She’ll take Nayeon’s lame-ass jokes any day over this….peace-but-not-peace thing. The irony between her hatred for chaos and what she’s feeling right now has never been more real.

_What has she been up to?_

Im Nayeon hasn’t texted her in a week. Right, they’re on knowing-each-other’s-last-names terms ever since Dahyun found out about it during one of Nayeon’s monologues, in which the woman had referred to herself in third person a few times. It was also the very first time that they did a video call. 

A week. Dahyun rolls her eyes at herself for thinking about it, let alone counting the days since the woman had last talked to her. _Not even a visit_ at the restaurant. 

It’s just that she’s gotten used to the constant buzzing of her phone, is all.

Luckily for her, the holiday buy-one-take-one promo is just around the corner. She texts the woman about it, and Nayeon doesn’t send her anything back but a wink emoticon. The response isn’t the usual multiple amount of emoticons, but she shakes her head anyway as a small chuckle easily escapes her mouth. 

She sends Nayeon a selfie of her pouting, at which the woman replies with a photo of her own, face contorted to form an ugly variation of the pout. 

_Cute. but u can’t tempt me!! i’m stronger than u think! >_< _

Her laughter echoes in the quiet chilly air at the back of the McDonald’s resting area. She stands up, dusts off her pants and returns to work. She may or may not be looking forward to seeing the now-familiar face and the thought of it brings a silly smile to her own. Maybe she could even get her to share the food—it’s about time anyway that the woman treats her to some dinner.

**  
  
**

At 2AM, Dahyun finally sees her.

“Cared enough to pay me a visit?”

“I’m here for the food,” Nayeon derides, a feeble attempt at keeping up the hostile act.

“You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me.”

“Yeah.” Nayeon smiles at her, mischievous as she prepares to ring Dahyun’s ears with a highly specific order. She looks so pretty toda— “One promo bundle please. Ooh, and could you get me some extra sauce and um, ice cream and ooh! A diet coke, and maybe add in an order of your—“

Dahyun interrupts her, “I get it, stop talking now, please.”  
  


It earns her a chuckle from the woman. “You already know what I want. I’ll eat it in the car. See you later?”

“Thank you for availing our promo, ma’am!”

Nayeon rolls her eyes.

**  
  
  
**

“Is it that good?”

Nayeon merely hums at that, satisfied with her food as usual.

“Thanks to me—” She swallows. “—you don’t have to worry about dinner anymore. Or breakfast—whatever you call it at 3 AM.”

Dahyun snorts and takes a bite of her own. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Nayeon.”

“Hey! I’m being generous here.”

Dahyun grabs a piece of napkin from the bag and leans over to wipe it across Nayeon’s cheek— _mouth?_ it’s that messy—with her right hand. The action causes the woman to turn towards Dahyun, their eyes now looking directly at each other.

“You eat like a kid,” Dahyun points out. 

The woman scoffs, “Says you, the one who literally looks like a highschool student.”

Dahyun doesn’t back down as her hand remains on Nayeon’s cheek. She moves the woman’s face a little as she speaks, just for emphasis. “Which also says a lot about you, having _flirted_ with me looking like one, without even knowing my age. You old creep.”

Nayeon gasps, her cheeks burning up, “I did no such thing! And I am _not old!_ ”

Dahyun laughs, but it dies down quickly as soon as her eyes accidentally drift towards Nayeon’s lips. “You’ve got some sauce left here.”

“Oh, thanks,” is what Nayeon says, “I’m gross, aren’t I?” She looks at Dahyun, face etched with genuine concern.

Dahyun chuckles. “Yeah, you’re nasty.”

Nayeon sighs. She then looks for dirty things in the car to put close to Dahyun’s face, which the girl successfully avoids. Nayeon screams bloody murder when Dahyun fishes out a fake cockroach from her bag. They both laugh when Nayeon tells her how ridiculous it is for her to be keeping a fake bug in her bag. Dahyun shrugs it off, saying that it came in handy just then. Finally, they finish up and start heading home after Nayeon runs out of used tissues to toss at her in revenge. 

“Hey, you know I’m still in my twenties, right?” she asks when they’re turning the corner away from the main road.

The air between them has shifted. Dahyun thinks so, or at least, she hopes it did. Getting real antsy now that she has an idea on how she wants the night to end. How can someone’s lips look that good? And so inviting? It really has been a while, even though she has not been exactly deprived of it. It’s probably just the hormones, she thinks. 

Nayeon is in her usual element—loud—as she jams to the songs on the radio. She dances a bit too, as if she was just alone in the car. It’s the late 90s and the early 2000s hits so she really can’t help it. Dahyun bobs her head to the music too, laughing along with the woman when she imitates the singers’ gestures.

They enter a bridge on the way. Tiny dots that are nightlights on the horizon look very much like stars to Dahyun’s eyes. She’d never noticed it before, always having been concentrated on just getting home. Her walks were usually just of her tuning out her surroundings until she arrived at her destination. 

Right now it just looks stunning—wow, never used that adjective before—and she wants Nayeon to see it too, so she quickly lowers the volume of the stereo and only gives a knowing expression when the woman looks at her.

“Pull over,” she says.

“What, why?” Nayeon asks confusedly while slowing down the car.

Dahyun smiles, ever so softly. “Just trust me.”

The car is now parked at the side of the bridge. Nayeon merely stays silent, eyebrows rising in question at the sudden request.

Dahyun points to her right and out the window. “Look.” Nayeon does look, and only then does she realize that Dahyun was absolutely right for making them stop. 

“It’s gorgeous,” Dahyun tells her, “I was just wondering how I’ve never noticed it before. Why I’ve never stopped to look. These lights are amazing.”

“Well, now you know. That’s what matters now, right? It really is pretty though, but I’m just not the sightseeing type. I just drive.”

“Of course you do. Can’t have you losing control of this thing. Who would pick me up from work then?” Dahyun jokes as she continues to observe the lights. She then adds, “There is something else though.”

“What?” Nayeon asks.

Dahyun doesn’t say a word as she gets out and walks toward the ledge. She tilts her head up, closing her eyes and inhaling the air outside. 

“What are you doing?” asks Nayeon, voice raised from inside the van. Getting out of a car to bask in moonlight slash light slash air pollution is clearly not on her usual agenda, but she moves to unbuckle her seatbelt anyway to follow the girl. When Nayeon gets close, she sees Dahyun raise up her arms.

“Ah, the wind!”

Nayeon looks at her incredulously. “The hell,” she mutters. “Um, hello? Do you need me to Jack-from-Titanic backhug you?”

With a laugh, Dahyun opens her eyes again, but doesn’t turn around to face the woman. She takes in more of the night air. “Maybe.”

“Seriously?” Nayeon snickers, but the girl still doesn’t move from her place. “You’re joking.”

“Mm-mm, of course I am,” Dahyun hums, putting her arms down and resting her hands on the railing. She turns her head just slightly, speaking right over her shoulder, “But it wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t, right?” 

“Oh. Um.”

The younger girl merely faces front again with a snort. “Just hug me.”

Nayeon wants to believe she can do this as smoothly as possible. She’s aware of how much game she has, always being the more assertive one in relationships, but Dahyun’s warm body is making it so hard for her not to shudder at the contact. 

Im Nayeon doesn’t blush; and she certainly does not get easily flustered like this. 

But it just so happens that her front fits perfectly against Dahyun’s back, ensuring that her chin slots at just the right height on top of the girl’s shoulder. The fact that the girl’s scent is invading her nostrils isn’t helping with her nerves as well.

“Hey, your head is perfectly on top of my shoulder,” Dahyun points out. 

“What?”

“It’s nice. I didn’t know we were the same height. I assumed you were taller than me.”

“That’s because most people are,” the woman retorts, “and I am too, like a few inches.”

“Touché.” Dahyun grins, the kind she has on when she’s teasing. “How many?”

“Uh...one...two…” They both laugh a little, seeing as there isn’t much difference in height anyway.

They savour the view for a bit, and it’s like Nayeon just knows when to hold her tighter to warm her up. She can feel the woman’s breath right next to her ear, and she wonders what it would be like to feel it on someplace else. 

Unsurprisingly, this neuron-frying moment causes Nayeon to say dumb things. 

“Hey, when we’re done here, can you wait in the car while I smoke?”

“What? No.”

Nayeon breaks the hug to turn the girl around to face her. “Why not? It’s so cold.” She pouts, albeit unintentionally, and makes a show of shivering.

“I hate the smell.” Dahyun looks at her dubiously. “You are not allowed to touch me with your cigarette hands.” She shrugs, “Your choice, actually.”

Nayeon’s expression goes from pouty to confused, and finally, she grins. “There’s gonna be touching?”

“I’ll hold your hand if you’re nice to me.” Dahyun starts walking back to the car.

Nayeon laughs, following suit. “I’m always nice!” 

  
  


The rest of the drive is spent in silence. 

Dahyun is dying in her seat. Maybe she wasn’t very expressive, like how there was no hint that Nayeon also affected her in the way that she affected the woman, and how she seems cooler about it than usual, but she’s feeling quite a lot of things too. Way too many things. 

Then they arrive, and she wants nothing but to bolt out of the car and run into the house. She suddenly feels embarrassed; probably because she just had this sappy moment with Nayeon (yes. pure, innocent affection that isn’t with Mina is just considered sappy—not like she has any other experience to compare it to), and that she feels stupid, because she doesn’t want to admit that she’s already liked this person right before she realized that meeting her was going to become a frequent thing.

Even Dahyun gets confused with how she herself acts, but she figures it’s best to just go with whatever feels good.

Her inviting the woman to hug her was a spur of the moment thing. Else it would have just been a wasted opportunity to live in the moment. Plus, she doesn’t feel any hint of near or far future regret, which is definitely a good sign. 

Nayeon’s company makes it seem so easy to do things just because. Like, fuck it, right? She’s got this funny, really beautiful woman in the driver seat of a car that’s currently on the way to her home, although said car is an old, sad van with a smashed headlight. Who cares about ‘complicated?’ Who cares that if they did get together that Nayeon would probably get something along the lines of lung cancer and die before her? She hasn’t even thought about what it would be like having to outlive a loved one, but here she is.

Dahyun doesn’t care about shit at the moment, because all she wants to do is invite the woman into her home and spend the night with her. It sounds ridiculous for now—and she might’ve been thinking a little too far ahead with the cancer thing—but it is real.

Right now, this night is very much real, and she wants to live it.

They’ve just arrived. The engine is off. Something feels like it’s turning inside her stomach. A simultaneously light and pressuring feeling on her whole torso. 

It’s want—it’s desire. Nayeon has to take her.

She hits pause on the overthinking and sighs to no one in particular. Seems it was quite loud, seeing as it caught the woman’s attention.

“What’s wrong?“

“You…” _You are_.

The answer falls from Dahyun’s lips and comes in the form of said lips on Nayeon’s mouth. The girl moved just as swiftly as the first time she ever laid her lips on the woman. Dahyun gently pulls her by the jaw, tilting her head to get a response. By instinct, Nayeon gives into the touch and kisses her back.

Dahyun is the first to pull away. The first kiss was just how she expected it to feel, like flowers exploding out of her chest as her lips graze Nayeon’s. On Nayeon’s part it was unexpected, of course. But she is very much willing to do it again. 

“Wow,” Nayeon says, “I...that was—”

Dahyun leans in for another one, this time more eager and hard. Nayeon merely responds with as much force as she could muster with the sudden turn of events. It’s longer, with lips moving harsher than Nayeon’s felt during some quickies with random hot strangers from the bar. For someone so usually reserved, she didn’t expect Dahyun to kiss like _this_. 

She touches the woman’s lips when they come up for air. “Do you...have any plans for tonight?” 

“Do _I_ have any plans _at 3AM_?” Nayeon gestures to herself. 

“You know,” says the younger girl, grinning, “I wouldn’t have kissed you if you had smoked back at the bridge. Also, you are way too good at ruining the mood. This is the second time tonight.”

The woman closes her eyes when she lets out a relieved sigh, a hand placed on her chest. “Oh thank god…”

“You are so dramatic.” She rolls her eyes. “Do you want to come in or not?”

Nayeon smirks as she eyes the finger on her lips. “I thought you’d never ask.”

For this one, Nayeon swears she wouldn’t dare break the mood.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> tell me what you guys think! :D


End file.
